Guest column: Free - a very dangerous word

Edward LevyCommunity Press guest columnist

How often are you tempted to reply to an ad where there is some "free" incentive to buy a product or service?

Do you really think that you are getting something for nothing? If you do, pay attention to what I have to say.

At the age of about 10 I was aware that a fish would bite on a free meal and as a result, become someone's dinner. A worm was not a normal meal. So, why did the fish bite? On other occasions I noticed my father setting a mouse trap with a piece of cheese. It became clear that free was dangerous.

Take a few minutes and look at the ads in the paper or on television. Do you really think that the "free" items don't cost the seller anything? How do you think they are paying for the bait that you are considering to bite on? Do you have the opportunity to buy the product for less without the attractive worm? Have you considered asking if you can do so?

Let me give you an example. Many years ago we decided to buy a television set. There was an ad that offered the set we were considering for "six months - the same as cash." When I asked the salesman how much it would cost if I paid at once, he went to the office. When he returned I was amazed to find that I would save far more than standard loan rates for paying on the spot. A simple question saved a lot of money and was a valuable lesson in the cost of "free."

The previous examples are choices you do not have to make. What about the life choices that are so attractive that you think you might be foolish not to take them? Those are the benefits the government offers to you which seem to have no hook on the end.

Don't be fooled. There is a hook. Slowly and surely, your freedom is taken away. You fail to notice it because you are better off than you were before the benefits started coming to you.

Ever so slowly, the increasing use of the benefits and the costs cause the government to raise taxes to pay for them. Then, fewer taxpayers either are unable to pay the taxes or leave for low tax areas. The result is hyper inflation. The government prints the money it can no longer collect. The free benefits have become the hook and you become a slave of the government.

Once you become property of the government there are two classes. The ruling class (politicians) and the common folks whose only duty is to see that the ruling class has the luxuries it demands and to fight the wars to keep the rulers in power.

Don't just take my word for it. There are plenty of books to tell you this. One of my favorites is "Animal Farm" by George Orwell. It is an easy read and only takes a few hours.

Edward Levy is a resident of Montgomery.

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Guest column: Free - a very dangerous word

How often are you tempted to reply to an ad where there is some 'free' incentive to buy a product or service?